Summer turned to leave just as the soap opera went to a news bulletin. “We’re on site at the convenience store bombing from earlier this morning,” a newscaster said. “The third in this area this year. This time the suspect wasn’t able to get the money from the cash register, and he vanished. The police think he’s still in the immediate vicinity. We’ll go to Tom now, on scene.”

The camera cut to a young reporter holding a microphone, standing in front of the convenience store. The windows had been blown out and were blackened around the edges. Just inside a few officers moved around.

“Look.” Summer pointed to Joe. He wore his usual uniform of jeans and his white button-down, half untucked and draped over the gun on his hip. He hadn’t shaved and his hair was rumpled, and he looked so incredibly sexy she wanted to reach out and touch him.

Kenny sighed as she sank next to him on the couch. “How many times have I told him when there’s suits or cameras around, tuck the shirt all the way in and comb that mop masquerading as hair…”

The reporter began talking. “The police are confident that they have the suspect on camera—” A gun went off, and the reporter gasped, spinning around to take in the scene behind him.

A guy wearing a ski mask and holding a gun leapt out of a large open tub of sodas. He waved the weapon, and as everyone else reached for theirs, the man closest to the perp dove forward.

Joe. He hit the suspect at midbelly and they both went down.

The gun went off again.

Four officers converged on them both, covering the view of the camera.

“Keep the camera on them, Ed!” yelled the reporter. “Keep rolling!”

But camera guy Ed couldn’t get a clear shot, there were too many people yelling and talking, standing in front of the lens.

“Oh my God, did you see that?” Summer cried, leaping to her feet. “Joe just dove right at him. Was he shot? Could you see? I couldn’t see!”

Face grim and tense, Kenny squeezed her hand then headed for the door. “I’ll call you from the scene—”

“Oh, no, you won’t. Because I’ll be standing right next to you—”

They had to drive separately because Kenny was going in an official capacity, while Summer would be nothing more than one of the desperate crowd.

And she was desperate. Her heart was bouncing off her ribs like a Ping-Pong ball, the blood roaring in her ears as she played the scene in her head over and over.

Why had Joe tried to be a hero?

But she knew the answer to that. He’d been the closest, he’d had the best chance at taking the guy down before he’d shot someone. And yet the gun had gone off anyway.